Balancing The Demands Of Family

BALANCING THE DEMANDS OF FAMILY and team always poses a challenge for professional athletes. In 1997, an injury to Wayne Gretzky’s wife during a game forced him to choose between being by her side and remaining in the game.

The New York Rangers were hosting the Chicago Blackhawks at Madison Square Garden. Chicago claimed a 1–0 lead in the second period on Eric Daze’s chip shot that floated over New York goalie Mike Richter. Then neither team could crack the opponent’s defense.

Midway through the third period, New York’s Ulf Samuelson and Chicago’s Sergei Krivokrasov collided at the wall near the Rangers’ penalty box. The shock wave caused a protective Plexiglas panel to break and fall into the stadium seats. A large fragment grazed Gretzky’s wife, former actress Janet Jones, cutting her lower lip and rendering her semiconscious. Play halted for more than ten minutes as medical personnel placed Jones on a stretcher and took the mother of the four Gretzky children to a local hospital.

Rangers’ trainer Jim Ramsay assured Gretzky that his wife’s condition was fine, and teammate Kevin Stevens’s wife accompanied Janet in the ambulance. Gretzky continued to play, but the Rangers lost 1–0. The following day, he expressed second thoughts about his decision, even though his wife was released after receiving several stitches and spending the night in the hospital for observation.

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POINT What should Wayne Gretzky have done? Should he have stayed by his wife’s side? Should he have put the team first since he got paid millions to play hockey and win games? How could “the Great One” balance his two roles?

Only Janet and Wayne can answer those questions for themselves and their marriage. But the Bible offers some guidance. A husband should love his wife as he loves himself. The apostle Paul compares the love of a husband to the love of Christ for the church. Christ gave his life for his followers. And God expects a husband to love his wife that much.

GOAL! What should a wife expect from her husband during family emergencies? What should a husband expect from his wife under the same circumstances? Ask God to help you learn—and recognize—unselfish love as you look for a future mate.